Ah, yes, because really – IT WAS ABOUT TIME!
I had to scroll back through our posts to check when our last FAMILY update was – and my jaw dropped when I saw that it was 8 months ago! December 2021!
How does that happen? All moms reading this know it’s one simple answer: LIFE!
LIFE HAPPENS, right guys? It’s why you’ll see SO many posts of mom’s posting their babies “month birthday” photos 3 weeks late & why Christmas cards (are those still even thing), will often arrive after the first of the year.
So, in saying all of that, I am cutting myself a BREAK (And I hope you will too – and cut yourself one while we’re at it), and going to do my BEST to update you on all that’s happened in the past 8 months.
First and foremost, our BIGGEST update is we MOVED! Nope, not too America or even another country. We moved 12 miles (or 20 km) down the road from Antwerpen to Mechelen, Belgium. To Belgians, that’s still a great distance. That’s kinda like saying, wow, now I have to drive to you or maybe take a train – hmmm…see ya in a few months! Ok, I may be exaggerating just a tad – but it really IS far here. So far in fact, it’s 15 km further than my husband has EVER lived from his birth place.
I am SO proud of him (and my bonus daughter) for making such a huge leap of faith & taking on this adventure with me.
We moved here in the beginning of July, and then Kim, Mason & I headed to America for an amazing 3 week vacation in Florida (Surprise, update Number 2), Billie went to a summer camp and Italy, and so we are just now all finally able to settle in some, hang up some paintings, get rid of all the boxes and enjoy our new home.
We all, yes even our almost-teenager, have absolutely LOVED our! Our house is almost 2x the size of our previous apartment and it’s set up in this amazing, cozy little street just 1 km away from the city center. There is no parking or street traffic out front, so our busy little man has plenty of space to run & we can even hear the church bells at night from the huge St. Rumbouts Cathedral.
One thing we’ve all enjoyed so much is being in Mechelen makes you feel like you’ve taken a time machine and gone back in time. We often feel like we’re living inside a painting from the Rennisance! It is not uncommon for us to walk along our neighboring streets & discover numerous homes and buildings constructed in the 14-16th centuries.
We didn’t know this until we moved here – not even my Belgian family- that Mechelen was known as a sort of religious pilgrimage spot – an epicenter for spiritual contemplation and renewal – and it is still felt in the countless churches, nuneries, monasteries and etc that still blanket the city to this day.
Besides all the medevial culture, we’ve also been enjoying the city life of getting to walk into the city center for a bite to eat, a walk along the river or even a bike ride to the local park to go swimming in a fresh water lake. For a family, it’s quite an amazing place to grow and thrive.
Speaking of growing & thriving, another update is that we have a new schedule with Billie’s mom, so we will be seeing her a little less, but it’ll give her a more beautiful balance between both homes. As we all transition into that new schedule in September, Kim is also transitioning out of teaching, and will be working from home with me full-time as we bring our coaching business & courses to new heights.
We’ve been balancing multiple jobs & family life now for a few years, and we are so thrilled & excited ot finally be able to focus more of our energy to the true purpose driven work we know God has lead us to. Working with multicultural & step families has been a dream come true – and we can’t wait to share & show what we’re working on NOW with you in the near future.
As always, we LOVE you guys. So many of you have been with us since the beginning in September 2018, and as we come upon our 3 year anniversary of meeting and being together, we thank you again for all your love, all your support & all your shared wisdom. Here’s a huge virtual hug (dikke knuffel) from us to you!
Until the next update, which I PROMISE won’t take this long (maybe), lots of love,
-Cheyanne Cleyman
Leave a Reply